The message cut off. Lauren sat in silence, weighing her options.

  Kill her or not?

  Shadowfen was basically Moonlit Sect’s backyard. The two sects were as tight as Hogwarts and Thunder Sect. Killing Indiana there would be like painting a target on her own back.

  But the chance to finish Indiana off once and for all… maybe it was worth the risk.

  Sleep wouldn’t come. She finally got up and poked Edmund awake.

  “Hey, lend me a breath of dragon’s breath.”

  The dragon blinked blearily. “What for?”

  She pulled out a low-grade spirit stone. “Just a puff. Enough to leave a trace of dragon aura.”

  Edmund squinted at her, then tapped the stone lightly with a claw. A faint smear of dragon’s breath clung to it.

  Lauren tucked it away with a grin. That night, she drew another twenty fourth-grade Explosive Spirit Talismans before finally closing her eyes.

  The next morning, she teleported to Shadowfen.

  The auction was still two days off, but the exhibits were already on display. Among them was a strange fire.

  Indiana must have come for it.

  Lauren wanted it too. But this was Shadowfen, a city crawling with Moonlit Sect ties. Outsiders didn’t get to walk away with treasures unless they had connections—or a mountain of spirit stones. Lauren had neither.

  She pushed that problem aside and started making preparations. Outside the city, she scattered faint traces of someone fleeing in panic, leading westward. Then she found a cave, hid a handful of talismans inside, and rigged the place with care.

  Back in the city, she reshaped her appearance with the Magical Pearl, taking on the faces of random passersby. Then she approached a filthy beggar squatting by the gate.

  “Want to get rich?” she asked.

  The beggar blinked at her like she’d grown two heads.

  Lauren’s voice stayed flat. “If you want to get rich, follow me.”

  What beggar wouldn’t? He scrambled to his feet and hurried after her.

  She led him to the cave, set off the hidden talismans, and watched the flames flicker to life.

  The beggar froze, eyes wide. “Will-o’-the-wisps?” He bolted in terror.

  Lauren caught him by the collar before he could run far.

  “Brother, please! Spare me! I’m just a beggar. Nothing worth killing!”

  “You’re not dying,” Lauren said evenly. “You’re delivering a message. Tell the Moonlit Sect fairy that there’s ghost fire in this cave. She’ll pay you for it.”

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  The beggar gawked at her. “Really?”

  “Of course. That’s only if you find the right person.” She pulled out Indiana’s portrait and shoved it into his hands. “Look closely. Remember her face. Wait at the Moonlit Sect entrance. Tell her her senior brother’s waiting for her to collect the fire. Do that, and you get your reward.”

  She tossed him a spirit stone. “Guide fee.”

  The beggar nodded so fast he nearly snapped his neck.

  That night, Lauren holed up in the cave and waited, calmly drawing twenty more Explosive Spirit Talismans.

  Chances were she wouldn’t need them. But better safe than sorry.

  ......

  The next morning, the beggar waited at the foot of the mountain until Indiana descended with two fellow Moonlit Sect disciples at her side.

  “What? My senior brother asked me to catch ghost fire in a cave?” she asked, brows knitting.

  “Yes, yes!” the beggar babbled eagerly. “I saw it myself—fire floating around inside. It has to be ghost fire.”

  The three women exchanged skeptical glances.

  “Ghost fire? No way. Senior Sister Indiana, that sounds more like a strange fire,” one of them whispered.

  “What? A strange fire?” The other’s voice trembled. “If it really is, Senior Sister, you’ll save yourself hundreds of thousands of spirit stones!”

  “Hundreds of thousands? The starting price alone is three hundred thousand,” the first reminded her, eyes shining.

  Indiana’s heart skipped. If this were true, it was a fortune fallen into her lap. Still, she hesitated. “Which senior brother?”

  “I don’t know. He gave me this as travel money.” The beggar held up the spirit stone Lauren had slipped him.

  Indiana took it, frowning. A faint trace of dragon aura clung to the stone. Timothy?

  If it was her Senior Brother Timothy, then it had to be a strange fire. Her excitement surged—until her junior sister tugged at her sleeve.

  “Wait. Didn’t Senior Brother Timothy head north for training?”

  “Yes,” Indiana admitted. Her unease grew. She tried contacting Timothy through a Sound Transmission Talisman. No response. Either he was too far, or in a secret realm shielded from communication.

  She relayed her doubts, but her companions brushed them off.

  “Even if it isn’t Senior Brother Timothy, it has to be someone close to him,” one said.

  “This is Moonlit Sect territory,” the other scoffed. “Who’d dare trick us here? Even if someone tried, the Sect Master could swat them like a fly. Let’s go.”

  Their confidence swayed Indiana. Strange fire wasn’t something you ignored.

  “Fine. Beggar, lead the way.” She tossed him ten more spirit stones.

  The beggar nearly cried with joy as he guided them out of the city, pointing toward the cave.

  “There, see? I wasn’t lying. Look at the little flames flickering inside.”

  The three disciples’ eyes gleamed.

  “It’s real! Hurry, we can’t let it slip away.”

  They charged into the cave without hesitation.

  They never noticed Lauren lurking in the shadows, cloaked by Hidden Breath and Hidden Spirit talismans. Lauren then cast a Thousand Mile Talisman on the beggar, instantly vanishing. Then she didn’t speak, didn’t move—just tossed two Explosive Spirit Talismans into the cave and triggered them in an instant.

  The detonations ripped through the stone, a deafening roar that made the earth quake.

  A single fourth-grade Explosive Spirit Talisman, properly placed, could kill a Core Formation cultivator. Indiana hadn’t even reached Dan Formation yet. Four blasts would pulverize her to dust. Even a Seven Heart Lotus wouldn’t save her now.

  Lauren didn’t wait to watch. As soon as the flames erupted, she fled soundlessly into the wilderness, her plan executed in the span of a few breaths.

  Lauren didn't flee Shadowfen after all. She shifted back into her female form and slipped into the city.

  Even if the Moonlit Sect had noticed and given chase, they wouldn’t have known it was her — much less follow her through Shadowfen’s streets. Because the sect could sense traces of the Thousand-Mile Talisman, Lauren had deliberately let the mortal escape using it the day before, leaving only a strange aura behind. They hadn’t caught her, and no one would suspect she’d returned to use the teleport array.

  She stepped straight from the array into the South Sea.

  “We’ve arrived in the South Sea. Have a pleasant journey.”

  Lauren grinned and handed a spirit stone to the young woman watching the array as a tip.

  Edmund’s head poked out from inside her sleeve as she left. “That woman’s luck is ridiculous. She doesn’t die.”

  Lauren froze mid-stride. Her insides felt like they were sliding into an icy cavern. “What? Four Explosive Spirit Talismans and she still doesn’t die? No way.”